Sheffield man to take on the David Goggins challenge this weekend

A Sheffield resident is pushing himself to do the David Goggins 4 x 4 x 48 challenge this weekend.

Joe Palmer, a 32-year-old University Lecturer, is raising money for St Luke’s Hospice, with his first run starting on Saturday at 4am GMT.

The challenge, created by retired Navy Seal David Goggins, consists of a 4-mile run every 4 hours for 48 hours and will be taking place at the same time in America.

“I like putting myself through challenges like that,” explains Joe Palmer.

“It just seemed like a good excuse to push myself and try and raise some money for a really good cause.

“I think it’s so important that places such as St Luke’s can still function at a really high quality level and deliver good quality care at that important time.”

He added: “Since Covid-19, these traditional funding streams have all disappeared.

“The charity sent over some promotional stuff to us through the post that said they’re losing £100,000 a week, which is a ridiculous amount of money.”

St Luke’s Hospice in Sheffield have shared their concerns about funding and income, making them public on social media.

In a statement on their website, they say: “We need to keep our critical services running whilst seeing our income reduce dramatically.

“You’ll recall that 75% of St Luke’s income comes from our community support, and that will be badly affected for a long time. But we still have ways that everyone can help – through our lottery, for example, and donations.

“Exactly how our services will change again in coming weeks we don’t know, but we are determined to continue providing care for patients approaching the end of their lives and their families.

“They need our support, whether affected by coronavirus or not.”

You can help support St Luke’s Hospice in Sheffield by donating to Joe Palmer’s GoFundMe page here.